It was ridiculous cardio, I may have been a little overboard. I would go monday thru friday every morning at 5:30. 30 min on stairmaster, 15 min on treadmill. Some nights I would go back home after lifting and eat, wait 30 min and then go back to the gym and do another 30 min of stairmaster. And sometimes I would do cardio Saturday morning, go back home and eat, and then go back to the gym and lift. I did all cardio, except evenings, on an empty stomach. I didn't miss one weekday of cardio that whole summer! It was difficult to readjust my schedule when I went back to school, as I was going to bed every night at 9 pm. I kinda miss some of that rigorous schedule though.

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well if that is what it'll take...then that's what i'll have to do. i'll just do cardio every morning...and then lift later on in the day when i get some eats in me...of course as always...i'm afraid that all my muscle will go away ...but i guess 30-40 mins of cardio wouldn't be too counter productive...

I was taking creatine and HMB and eating a little over 240 grams of protein everyday to try and minimize the muscle loss. I really started looking good in the first week of august, except I was still carrying just a bit of water due to the creatine. I stopped taking that for the last two weeks of summer and lost 7 pounds almost instantly. When I lost those last 7 pounds it blew my mind! I couldn't believe what I looked like, it made my summers-worth of isolation from the world entirely worth it. When you get to the point you will totally see what I mean, just standing there grinning at yourself. And then I drank a beer and was buzzing after half the bottle!

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quote:

Originally posted by Ygrene I was taking creatine and HMB and eating a little over 240 grams of protein everyday to try and minimize the muscle loss. I really started looking good in the first week of august, except I was still carrying just a bit of water due to the creatine. I stopped taking that for the last two weeks of summer and lost 7 pounds almost instantly. When I lost those last 7 pounds it blew my mind! I couldn't believe what I looked like, it made my summers-worth of isolation from the world entirely worth it. When you get to the point you will totally see what I mean, just standing there grinning at yourself. And then I drank a beer and was buzzing after half the bottle!

hahaha sweet. i'm going to africa next summer to see my ex...so i gotta be looking teh sexy hahaha. i think i could do it by then...i just gotta work hard at that shit. do you think that point you were at could be maintained indefinitely? how come you aren't that way anymore? i know i've let myself go in that past...no way i'm in my best shape right now...but what happened with your situation? did you just try bulking again or what?

Yeah, I think it could be maintained indefinitely to a certain point but, you really really really have to watch the diet if you are not doing all that cardio.

I try to maintain a happy medium now, whereas I'm still very lean but I can go into the gym and have plenty of energy for workouts. Plus I can have some flexibility in my diet and not give myself a complex about straying from it a litle bit. I think if I wanted to get back to that crazy ripped shape now, I might be a month or 3 weeks away from it, if I turned on the crazy cardio again and dropped the creatine.

I dunno, all this talk is kind of making want to resurrect my old RATM - Evil Empire tape (yes tape) that i listened to for every cardio session that summer and do it all again. When are you planning to start this?

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well...i'm of course always working out...i'm going away this weekend to toronto, but i would assume starting right after that hehehe...next week. my goal would to basically look fantastic by juneish...i'm guessing if i did the crazy daily cardio factor i could probably be that ripped in 5-6 weeks easy. i also of course wanna add some muscle to that...but i think if i eat right...that i'll be able to make some additional improvement...

i've just let myself go...i feel so weak and fatty. i mean...i still look pretty decent to normal people, but another lifter could totally spot the illusion i have going on hehehe.

we should keep the daily log in this thread of what we are doing...and be honest about cheating on diet, missed days, etc...

Last edited by Floorfiller on Sep-02-2004 at 04:32

Well, if you do start next week, I might do it for at least a month also, for old times sake. And that way you won't have to fly solo for at least the first month. Let me know.

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why just a month?...what are your goals? long term...

My long term goal is 30% to maintain my size and 70% to maintain my strength. The strength is more important so I can be competitive on the basketball court.

I think after a month of doing the daily morning cardio I could be ok with my size and strength but, going longer than that I fear I would start to see my strength suffer. But I would like to rip up hardcore again. (insert evil laugh)

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yeah i could see you taking hits on the strength with that much cardio. and actually lemme ask you..

i used to be able to do a lot of weight on exercises...i had a period where i did a lot of cardio and lost that strength and its never come back to me. i don't mind THAT much since i really only give a damn about looking good hahaha, but i do wish i could get that strength back. i suppose my method of training, i usually only aim for 12 reps, doesn't really support maxing and that kinda shit...but what do you think about that? any thoughts on how i can get that strength back? my friend is having the same problem. i mean we both lost a lot of body fat and we just can't lift a lot of weight anymore.

Well, after I got hardcore into being ripped, I got hardcore into getting big. So eventually I gained all my strength back and more. I did it by working in a low rep range with big movements and even a little powerlifting. But definitely shedding that fat made me lose strength, no doubt about it. I think you can gain lean muscle without gaining fat but, it's just easier to gain muscle when you have no limits to your energy supplies.

I think that's why so many pro bodybuilders have their 'phases' throughout the course of the year. Their weight may fluctuate 50 - 60 pounds over the course of a year, between their diet phase and building phase.

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